Crack cocaine: African community under the Garda spotlight

In February, the Garda established Operation Plaza. Its mission is to tackle what the Gardai see as an escalating problem of cocaine use in Dublin, especially in the inner city. In particular Operation Plaza aims to stem the use of crack cocaine.
From the start, this specialised unit has targeted African gangs. Gardai sources say that they are the main suppliers of crack in Ireland.
Arrests and large seizures of cocaine followed, with a number of Nigerians being charged with possession of the drug.
Gardai suggest that there is already a crack problem in Nigeria and in other parts of West Africa, one that is being transported to Ireland by immigrants coming here.
According to Garda drugs unit sources, at the moment most of the suppliers and users of crack are within the African community. While they don’t believe that Irish drug gangs are significantly involved in the crack trade, the expectation is that this will change. “As soon as they see that there’s a market for this, they’ll get involved,” one senior source told Hot Press.
There are, Gardai believe, several African gangs across the city involved in manufacturing and distributing the crack. Some are based in the suburbs, but they are as likely to deal in the city centre.
These gangs are believed to be involved in organising the importation of the drug and in converting it from powder form to rocks, which can be smoked. One raid in Dublin earlier this year resulted in the capture of 25kg of cocaine, which originated in South America but had subsequently been shipped from Lagos in Nigeria, via Amsterdam.
FEAR OF AUTHORITY A PROBLEM
Some newspapers and politicians have suggested that crack use is at epidemic levels. However, those involved in dealing with drug addicts insist that there is no evidence yet of widespread crack use.
“Most people you speak to say it’s a problem. But the evidence isn’t there on the street at the moment,” says Colm Brown, co-ordinator of the South Inner City Drugs Taskforce. “If someone starts printing that it’s at epidemic proportions, they’re out of their heads.”
Aileen O’Gorman, a lecturer in Social Science at UCD and former research officer with the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, tends to agree. Aileen says that there’s not enough evidence available to reach any definite conclusions.
“Anecdotally, there is talk about it being used by marginalised groups in general, not just new communities or asylum seekers,” she says. “But we really don’t know very much about new communities and their drug use.”
For obvious reasons, it has been difficult for the Gardai to establish links with the immigrant community. There is an inevitable fear of authority among refugees – understandable in a regime where they are likely to come under highly unpleasant scrutiny. A simpler problem is the language barrier. Indeed, that’s also a problem for addicts within the immigrant community, who may not be aware of the help available to them.
A 2004 study of drug use in new communities in Dublin, carried out by Merchant’s Quay Ireland (MQI), suggested that this lack of awareness was the “most significant barrier” to more immigrant drug users seeking help. To combat this, Irish drugs clinics have begun to distribute leaflets in a variety of languages.
However, African drug users need to be convinced that the voluntary agencies are not going to pass information on to the authorities.
“Fear of authority is a big block for people from those communities,” says Tony Geoghegan, director of MQI. “They don’t distinguish between voluntary agencies and statutory services, because they don’t have those distinctions in their home countries.”
DRIVING PEOPLE TO DRUGS
UCD’s Aileen O’Gorman believes that the law is a problem in this regard. “They have huge difficulties under our legislation,” she says. “If you’re applying for asylum, you don’t want it down on any record that you’re attending Merchants Quay. So we’re creating a problem for them in some ways.”
Luke Kasuwanga, an African community volunteer, remains optimistic that once immigrant drug users are made aware of the services available, many will use them. “The issue of trust is the most important one,” he says, adding that schemes like multilingual staff and leaflets “will help very, very much.”
Kasuwanga believes that the lengthy asylum application process may itself be to blame for some Africans turning to crack. “Fear and hopelessness will drive people to things like drugs,” he says. He points out that because some immigrants have to work illegally to support themselves, breaking the law in order to use drugs becomes less of a taboo. “They are already living a lie,” he says.
The 2004 MQI report recommended a drugs outreach team be created in the city, to make connections with immigrant drug users. Tony Geoghegan recently applied to the HSE for funds to help run such a service, but admits he’s not hopeful that the money will be forthcoming.
The bottom line, however, is that those involved in providing drug support services believe the use of crack can be controlled. Colm Brown, who recently travelled to London’s Blenheim Project, a centre which specialises in treatment for crack addicts, is emphatic. “If we all stay on our guard, and the services are expanded to cope with the different types of cocaine, I think we’ll get a grip on it,” he says.
If the response is appropriate, crack shouldn’t have the devastating impact other drugs have had on Dublin. “Unlike what happened with heroin in the late ‘70s, we’ll be ahead of the posse,” he says.